


Abjuration as a State of Mind

by MagpieWords



Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [17]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dungeons & Dragons, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen, No Apocalypse (Umbrella Academy), Number Five | The Boy Didn't Leave The Umbrella Academy, Protective Luther Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, rated t for cursing and bad parenting, set while they're still teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieWords/pseuds/MagpieWords
Summary: It's also a school of magic.AU where the Hargreeves children don't have super powers, they're being trained as mages. With their first real world mission looming in the future, sometimes the only missions that matters are the ones where they look out for each other.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Luther Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Ben Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves
Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860265
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: AUgust 2020





	Abjuration as a State of Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a fic about Five, but somehow it became about Luther and an exploration on how protection magic makes you a little paranoid. Bonus points if you can guess which school of magic each kid is specialized in.  
> Also it is like _impossible_ to tag every sibling relationship in a group focused fic, ugh.

“I don’t understand why I can’t also study abjuration! I can handle more than one school of magic. I’m a better student than Luther and we both know it.”

The distant, half-hearted “hey!” from Luther on the other side of the study went largely ignored as Five and Reginald Hargreeves found themselves in yet another staring contest. There was a dangerous tension between yet, yet it was lacking in the way that daily repetition could dull even the sharpest blade.

For a father to be in such an argument with his son was frustrating. However, for an arcane master to be in such with one of his pupils was unacceptable. “Number Five, I have made my decision on the matter.”

“Have you considered that your decision is wrong?”

“Five,” the warning tone caused silence to fall over the study, for all the other Umbrella Academy children except for the one it was directed towards.

“Oh, I’m sorry. The great Reginald Hargreeves can’t be wrong. He’s a divination master, he knows everything. Fine, then teach me that.”

“Just drop it, Five.” 

He whirled around, shoes squeaking on the over polished floor as he turned the heat of his fury at his sister. “Of all of us, Seven, you are the last one that should be on his side.”

The hurt that crossed her expression bloomed into tangible rage for only a moment, the temperature of the room spiking, before flickering back down into sadness. “I would never,” Vanya whispered, but the words were lost as Reginald spoke over her.

“Enough. Lessons are cancelled for today. If your brother insists on being ungrateful for the gifts I deem you worthy to impart, then none of you shall receive them.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Klaus said, posture going slack as he dropped the magical energy he’d been so focused on. That focus had been directed at an urn, which went from hovering in front of the necromancy student, to falling very rapidly towards the floor. It was only thanks to Diego, lunging across the room and conjuring a pillow under the urn, that the sound of shattering didn’t make all of their siblings jump. Whatever glare he earned from his brother, Klaus couldn’t be bothered to see.

“Oh not you, Number Four.” And Klaus immediately tensed. “We’ll continue your training outside.”

“Fuck,” he cursed quietly, but followed Reginald out of the study. The rest of the children watched them leave, until the doors closed firmly behind them.

“He didn’t say we had to do something else,” Allison broke the silence, though her voice wasn’t as sure as it usually was.

“He didn’t,” Diego agreed, still just as unsure. The group of them stayed frozen near their study materials for another long, silent moment.

Ben closed his book and Vanya nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “But we’re going to help Klaus, right?”

“That was a one time thing.” Luther hadn’t even joined them, the last time Reginald took Klaus to the mausoleum in the yard. It had been nearly midnight, and it hadn’t been the first time he’d taken Klaus while the other children were supposed to be sleeping. But it was the first time Klaus put up a fight loud enough to wake anyone.

Luther hadn’t joined, had actively encouraged his siblings not to go through with it, but he had strategized. Reminded them all that no matter what was happening to Klaus, it would only become worse if he wasn’t still there when Reginald returned. In a rush, he’d cast protection magic on each of them, burning himself out of spell slots for training the next day. He hadn’t joined, yet he’d still paid for the little rescue mission just as much as they would have if they’d been caught.

And they hadn’t been caught. “Teach me,” Five demands, just as fierce as he’d argued with their father.

“Now?” Luther glanced towards the door, but he wasn’t saying no. Five didn’t wait for him to change his mind, already grabbing the spellbook out of his hands.

“I’ve already been reading this while you sleep - your alarm spell needs work.” He flipped through the book, finding the right page and laying it on the table. “We need a shield and you can’t afford to burn slots again.”

He moved his hands, trying to mimic the somatic components of the spell, pausing midway through to look to Luther. When Luther didn’t respond, Five snapped at him again. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Is this right? Come on, you big idiot, you’ve been casting this since we could do verbal components. Tell me if I’m doing it right.”

“You, uh, you are.” Luther glanced around at the others, hoping for support that this was crazy. They weren’t supposed to learn anything outside of their assigned school of magic, they all knew that just as well as Luther did. The rest of their siblings had started grabbing a collection of books off the study shelves.

“I’ve got a slot left for a stealth spell,” Ben said, already starting the motions for it. “It should cover all of us.”

“I’ve been practicing a high level memory alteration spell all week. I should be able to pull it off if I need to.” Allison grabbed a pouch of material components from the desk.

“I’m out of slots,” Diego frowned at the pillow he’d manifested, then pulled a dagger out from under it. “But I’ve got this.”

Luther blanched. “Are you going to stab Dad?”

“What? No. I’m going to stab a ghost.”

Looking for some semblance of sanity, Luther turned to Vanya. “You can’t think this is a good idea to do again.”

“Of course not,” she admitted, but didn’t look up from a book that was definitely not from the evocation section. “But we’re doing it anyway. It’s what’s right.” She finally looked up, but not at Luther. “Ben, would counter-necromancy be good for this?”

The glowing smile that Ben gave her made Luther throw up his hands. “Fine, fine, go get yourselves grounded. I am not leaving this study.”

“Agreed,” Five said, practicing the hand motions for the spell again. “We need you on watch. Ben, after you finish the stealth, can you juggle that mind whisper cantrip with Luther?”

“Can do. And uh, everyone stand still for a second, I want to cast this right.” The flurry of movement in the room paused for a second, magic swelling out in tendrils from Ben as it modified everyone it touched. “Okay, we’re good.”

“No, we are not good!” Luther shouted. “We cannot just do this every time our father wants to teach us something!” 

The hustled activity had picked up for a moment, only to stop again. It was frustrating, being the leader and having none of his siblings listen to him. He was only trying to protect them and he couldn’t do that if they weren’t able to learn strong enough magic. He couldn’t do that if they kept earning their father’s disappointment.

“Luther,” Allison put a hand on his shoulder, closer than was probably wise for anyone to be to an enchantment student. “You weren’t there. What Dad’s doing is… it’s too cruel to be teaching.”

Luther shook off her hand, stepping out of close range. “Everything is teaching. Dad put me in front of a pitch machine and told me to handle it. Either I have the spells ready or I don’t and that’s how I’ve become a good spellcaster. We won't survive our first mission if we’re not ready!”

“A shield spell isn’t like what Klaus has to do–”

“Okay fine, then what about what you have to do, Ben? I’ve seen Dad push you over the balcony, not even during training! Did you or did you not learn the fall save spell? Diego, you did it just two minutes ago with that pillow trick and that one wasn’t even Dad’s fault. And don’t get me started on what he’s done to Vanya.”

The silence that fell over the room was different than the ones before it. This wasn’t the absence of their father, leaving a hurricane wake as his words echoed long after he left the room. It wasn’t confusion, it wasn’t waiting for instructions. The silence spoke louder than words could. It was accusation and betrayal in a perfectly concise statement. What Luther said was true, they all knew that. But how dare he throw it in their face. How dare he side with their father. They didn’t need their own horrifying realities thrown back in their faces; they had lived them first hand.

“I know,” Vanya said, words soft but steady, almost humming with magic just at the edge of her fingertips. “But it would have been a much better learning experience if I wasn’t alone and terrified when it happened.”

The collective weight of his siblings looking at him with such disdain was almost too heavy for Luther to bear, even with the layers of magic permanently improving his strength. It couldn’t possibly have been coordinated, but all as one, they looked away from him.

“I’ve got the teleportation spell ready,” Five said. How many secret meetings of sharing spells had Luther missed? How many more times had his siblings snuck away without him? There was a surge of magic, sparkling and blue, and he watched them disappear. The silence he was left with was deafening

Then Ben’s voice pinged in the back of his mind. “You’re still on guard duty.”

The cantrip allowed for a return message and Luther hesitated. Their father couldn’t read minds all the time, right? He was one of the most powerful magic users in the world, but no one could do a spell like that constantly. Right?

The cantrip was still pressing against his mind, waiting for a response.

Luther turned to the door, turning the handle silently and opening it just a crack. Not enough for him to move through, just enough to see if someone was approaching. “Affirmative,” he sent back. “Keep me in the loop and I’ll keep you safe.”


End file.
